Fundraising effort for Kurdish teenager assaulted in London exceeds target

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – An online campaign to raise funds for a Kurdish asylum seeker assaulted in London on Sunday had more than tripled its target at time of writing.

A 17-year-old Kurdish asylum seeker from Iran was beaten up by a group of people in London after they asked him his nationality. A group of 10 to 20 watched the attack, according to eye-witness reports.

"He sustained serious head and facial injuries as a result of this attack, which included repeated blows to the head by a large group of attackers," Detective Inspector Gary Castle said, according to Reuters.

The Guardian identified the Kurdish teenager as Reker Ahmed who had been in the UK for less than a year. He arrived in the country as an unaccompanied minor and is living with a foster parent while attending college and learning English.

Ahmed is in hospital with a fractured skull; his situation is serious but stable.

“We want to help him overcome this horrible ordeal and show that he is loved and welcome here in the United Kingdom,” the fundraising appeal stated.

“Feeling valued and loved is a very basic need that we can all be part of, all of us have an opportunity to make a difference for this young man. This will go a long way to ensuring he sees the best after witnessing the very worst.”

The campaign set a goal of £3,500 but had already raised £11,385 ($14,200) by Monday evening.

The attack was quickly condemned by London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Police on Monday announced they had charged five people in the attack. Detectives are treating it as a hate crime.

In the wake of the Westminster attack which claimed the lives of four, rallies and demonstrations have taken place around the country, demanding the British government stop receiving immigrants.